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TV star and comedian Paul O’Grady has died at the age of 67, his partner Andre Portasio has said.

In a statement, he said the star, known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage, died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening.

The Tranmere-born presenter hosted a number of game shows, including Blankety Blank in the late 90s under the guise of Savage.

His career spanned more than 30 years, during which he hosted The Paul O’Grady Show, Blind Date and For The Love Of Dogs.

He also featured on TV shows such as Dr Who and Holby City.

File photo dated 09/11/98 of Paul O'Grady, as Lily Savage, during a photocall on Hyde Park, London, where it was announced that he was to play Miss Hannigan in the musical Annie on stage in London. TV presenter and comedian Paul O'Grady has died at the age of 67, his partner Andre Portasio has said. The TV star, also known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage, died "unexpectedly but peacefully" on Tuesday evening, a statement shared with the PA news agency via a representative said. Issue date
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He started off as Lily Savage, which became an integral part of his career
EDITORIAL USE ONLY File photo dated 07/05/13 of Paul O'Grady with rescue dogs Razor a German Shepherd, Moose a Rottweiler and Dodger a Terrier at London's Battersea Park.
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Paul O’Grady with rescue dogs at London’s Battersea Park

Mr Portasio, who married O’Grady in 2017, said: “It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening.

“We ask, at this difficult time, that whilst you celebrate his life you also respect our privacy as we come to terms with this loss.

“He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion.

“I know that he would want me to thank you for all the love you have shown him over the years.”

paul o'grady and partner
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Paul O’Grady and Andre Portasio married in 2017
File photo dated 17/03/15 of Queen Elizabeth II looking at a Corgi as Paul O'Grady looks on during a visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London.
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Queen Elizabeth II with Paul O’Grady at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London in 2015

In 2012, O’Grady spoke about his health after having had two heart attacks.

He said following the publication of his third book: “The worst thing you can do is to sit and fret.

“I take tablets and have check-ups every eight months when they put me on the treadmill. I say to them, ‘Heart attack or not, I’m hopeless on treadmills!'”

Both his parents died young from heart problems – his father when O’Grady was in his late teens and his mother, whose maiden name was Savage, when he was 33.

The name is believed to have inspired his famous drag alter ego who helped propel him to mainstream success.

File photo dated 16/10/08 of Paul O'Grady being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the then Prince of Wales (now King Charles III), at Buckingham Palace, central London.
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Paul O’Grady being handed an OBE by then Prince Charles in 2008

‘We have lost a unique talent’

Long-time friend and producer, Malcolm Prince, offered his tribute to O’Grady having visited him at his home only yesterday.

Mr Prince said: “I popped round to Paul’s for a good old catch-up. Surrounded by his beloved dogs, he was laughing smiling and full of life. He was looking forward to so many new projects.

“And now he’s gone I can’t believe it. We have lost a unique talent – and I’ve lost a dear friend. We were all lucky to have Paul in our lives.

“My heart goes out to Andre, Paul’s family, and friends. Oh how I’ll miss him.”

‘He made millions laugh’: Tributes pour in for O’Grady

File photo dated 21/12/04 of Paul O'Grady performing as Lily Savage, as the Wicked Queen, in Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs -at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London. TV presenter and comedian Paul O'Grady has died at the age of 67, his partner Andre Portasio has said. The TV star, also known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage, died "unexpectedly but peacefully" on Tuesday evening, a statement shared with the PA news agency via a representative said. Issue date: Wednesday March 29, 2023.

The rise of Paul O’Grady

He began his career as Lily Savage in the 1970s and the act later gained traction at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern cabaret club, where he was a prominent advocate of LGBT issues.

The Savage persona propelled him to TV and radio whilst he remained in character, and he took over as The Big Breakfast presenter in 1995.

Blankety Blank, which ran until 2002, would showcase his dry humour.

Comedy chat shows would follow with The Paul O’Grady Show in 2004, and Paul O’Grady Live in 2010, which featured guests like Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones and Michael McIntyre.

The presenter was honoured with an MBE for services to entertainment in 2008, adding to a list of achievements including a TV Bafta, a British Comedy Award, and a National Television Award for The Paul O’Grady Show.

Last year O’Grady commemorated 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home with the Queen Consort in a special episode of For The Love Of Dogs.

File photo dated 04/11/11 of Paul O'Grady standing next to a former costume of his alter ego Lily Savage at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery, where it was appearing as part of the Savage Style: Costumes from Lily's Wardrobe exhibition.
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Paul O’Grady standing next to a former costume of his alter ego Lily Savage at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery in 2011

Further tributes have poured in for the much-loved comedian.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “Paul wasn’t just a brilliant comedian and broadcast personality but a much-admired campaigner for LGBT+ equality and animal rights.”

ITV’s Lorraine Kelly described him as “a really special man” and “funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise”.

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Eight arrests in connection with two separate terrorism investigations

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Eight arrests in connection with two separate terrorism investigations

Eight men have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police in two unconnected but “significant” terrorism investigations.

In one operation on Saturday, counter-terror officers arrested five men – four of whom are Iranian nationals – as they swooped in on various locations around the country. All are in police custody.

The Met said the arrests related to a “suspected plot to target a specific premises”.

In an update shortly after midnight, the force said: “Officers have been in contact with the affected site to make them aware and provide relevant advice and support, but for operational reasons, we are not able to provide further information at this time.”

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Counter-terrorism policing, supported by police and colleagues from across the country, have conducted arrests in two really significant operations, both of which have been designed to keep the public safe from threats.

“There are several hundred officers and staff working on this investigation, and we will work very hard to ensure we understand the threats to the wider public.”

He refused to say if the plot was related to Israel, but described it as “certainly significant” and said “it is unusual for us to conduct this scale of activity”.

He also asked the public to “avoid speculation and some of the things that are being posted online”.

MI5 director general Ken McCallum said in October that the intelligence agency had responded to 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots since 2022. He warned of the risk of an “increase or broadening of Iranian state aggression in the UK”.

Read more: Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran

Children ‘petrified’ by armed police

Rochdale resident Kyle Warren, who witnessed one of the arrests at a neighbouring house, said his children had been playing in the garden when they came running into the house, saying a man in a mask had told them to go inside.

“Obviously, I was a bit worried,” Mr Warren told Sky News’ Lisa Dowd, and so he went into the garden to investigate.

“As we’ve come out, we just heard a massive bang, seen loads of police everywhere with guns, shouting at us to get inside the house.”

Kyle Warren said his children were 'petrified'
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Kyle Warren said his children were ‘petrified’

From upstairs in his house, he then heard “loads of shouting in the house” and saw a man being pulled out of the back of the house, “dragged down the side entry and thrown into all the bushes and then handcuffed”.

There were about 20 to 30 officers with guns, he believes.

“It’s just shocking, really. You don’t expect it on your doorstep.”

His daughters were “petrified… I don’t think they’ve ever seen a gun, so to see 20 masked men with guns running round was quite scary for them”.

Mr Warren, who only moved into his house a year ago, said he had “never really seen anyone going in or out” of the house and actually thought it was empty.

One suspect was arrested in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester. Pic: Sarah Cash
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One suspect was arrested in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester. Pic: Sarah Cash

One suspect was arrested in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester. Pic: Sarah Cash
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One suspect was arrested in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester. Pic: Sarah Cash

Arrests and searches around the country

The Met added officers were carrying out searches at a number of addresses in the Greater Manchester, London and Swindon areas in connection with the investigation.

It said those detained were:

• A 29-year-old man arrested in the Swindon area
• A 46-year-old man arrested in west London
• A 29-year-old man arrested in the Stockport area
• A 40-year-old man arrested in the Rochdale area
• A man whose age was not confirmed arrested in the Manchester area.

Passenger footage of a police van in Stockport over the terrorism arrest SQUARE OR PORTRAIT
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A 29-year-old man was arrested in the Stockport area

Terror arrests in separate investigation

Police also arrested three further Iranian nationals in London on Saturday as part of another, unrelated counter-terror investigation.

The suspects were detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.

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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years.

“This reflects the complexity of the kinds of challenges to our national security that we continue to face.”

Earlier, she thanked police and security services in a statement, and called the incidents “serious events that demonstrate the ongoing requirement to adapt our response to national security threats”.

Last year, the government placed the whole of the Iranian state – including its intelligence services – on the enhanced tier of the new foreign influence registration scheme.

It means anyone asked by Iran to carry out actions for the state must declare it, or face prison time.

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Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

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Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

These are two separate and unrelated investigations by counter-terror officers.

But the common thread is nationality – seven out of the eight people arrested are Iranian.

And that comes in the context of increased warnings from government and the security services about Iranian activity on British soil.

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Counter terror officers raid property

Last year, the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.

He linked that increase to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own backyard.

“As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or a broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,” he said.

The implication is that even as Iran grapples with a rapidly changing situation in its own region, having seen its proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, decimated and itself coming under Israeli attack, it may seek avenues further abroad.

More on Iran

The government reiterated this warning only a few weeks ago, with security minister Dan Jarvis addressing parliament.

“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” Jarvis said.

“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.

“Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”

Read more:
Anybody working for Iran in UK must register or face jail, government announces

As part of that address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which “criminalises assisting a foreign intelligence service”, among other things.

So it was notable that this was the act used in one of this weekend’s investigations.

The suspects were detained under section 27 of the same act, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.

Those powers are apparently being put to use.

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Pictured: Boy killed in Gateshead industrial estate fire – 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter

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Pictured: Boy killed in Gateshead industrial estate fire - 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter

Tributes have been paid to 14-year-old Layton Carr who died in a fire at an industrial estate.

Eleven boys and three girls, aged between 11 and 14 years, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the incident in Gateshead on Friday. They remain in police custody.

Drone view showing the aftermath of a fire at Fairfield industrial park at Bill Quay, Gateshead
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Police were alerted to a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area

Firefighters raced to Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area shortly after 8pm, putting out the blaze a short time later.

Police then issued an appeal for a missing boy, Layton Carr, who was believed to be in the area at the time.

In a statement, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.

Layton’s next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers, police added.

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Teenager dies in industrial estate fire

A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.

Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”

One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”

Another added: “My boy ❤️ my baby cousin, my Layton. Nothing will ever come close to the pain I feel right now. Forever 14. I’ll miss you sausage.”

A third said: “Rest in peace big lad such a beautiful soul taken far to soon my thoughts are with you Gee stay strong girl hear for u always.”

Read more from Sky News:
Eight arrests in connection with two terrorism operations
Compensation scheme scrapped for child sexual abuse victims

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”

She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.

They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.

A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.

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